This watchdog blog, by journalist Norman Oder, offers analysis, commentary, and reportage about the $4.9 billion project to build the Barclays Center arena and 16 high-rise buildings at a crucial site in Brooklyn. Dubbed Atlantic Yards by developer Forest City Ratner in 2003, it was rebranded Pacific Park in 2014 after the Chinese government-owned Greenland Group bought a 70% stake in 15 towers. New York State still calls it Atlantic Yards. Contact: AtlanticYardsReport[at]hotmail.com

Sunday, January 09, 2011

The recent Reuters investigation of the EB-5 program turned up several examples of immigration brokers in the Far East misleading those seeking green cards via investment immigration--though, as I've argued, the article gave a pass to the New York City Regional Center's framing and presentation of the Brooklyn Arena and Infrastructure Project.

Now several authorities in China are cracking down on abuses, as detailed in several examples within the last month from the EB-5 News Blog run by Brian Su, president of the EB-5 China Market Council and an EB-5 consultant in Illinois.

Beijing has 77 legitimate and licensed immigration agencies, however due to US EB-5 program and other foreign immigration business boom in last two years, many unlicensed immigration intermediary firms are operating without required licenses.

On December 27, 2010, Shanghai Exit-Entry Services Association issued a warning notice to all association members that the association will prohibit members to participate in any un-authorized exit-entry industry competition or award events organized by un-authorized entities and organizations. The association has received numerous complaints that a newspaper publisher was hosting a so called "The Most Trustworthy Exit-Entry Service Agency 2011 Award" event.

In a recent conference with Guangzhou area immigration service providers, Guangzhou Exit-Entry Administration also set new requests to the Guangzhou immigration industry. 1) Set new mechanism for monitoring promotional activities and restrict excessive exaggerations; 2) Publicize risks on overseas investment projects; 3) Each exit-entry service agency must file annual compliance review documentation by the end of December every year; and 4) When handling U.S. EB-5 immigrant investors program, exit-entry service agencies must inform consumers and fully disclose risk factors associated with the program.

A promotional event for New York City Regional Center is to be hosted by a local migration agency in Guangzhou on January 15, 2011. The seminar will be held at 2:00 pm at Westin Hotel, 6 Lin He Zhong Road, Guangzhou. Mr. Gregg Hayden will be attending and entertaining questions. Two NYCRC seminars will take place in Beijing on January 8-9, 2011.

Will the local migration agency "restrict excessive exaggerations" and "fully disclose risk factors"?

Hayden has said the "EB-5 funding, the $249 million we are seeking to raise in the China market, is only 17%, the safest, most secure portion of the capital structure, 17%... portion of the capital structure is the EB-5 portion."